Dear friends, please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7 and verse 7. Matthew chapter 7 and the verse 7, 7th verse. Matthew 7 verse 7, ask and it shall be given you Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. And our subject this morning is three steps to salvation. Three steps to salvation. And these are the wonderful words, of course, of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is the famous Sermon on the Mount. And this passage before us, or these verses before us, specifically verse 7, well, they are a very important part of this glorious sermon, and very important particularly for those who do not know the Lord. And you will know, the vast majority of you in this place at least, that our great aim in our morning service is to reach out to those who do not know the Lord and explain to them why they should know the Lord and how they can know the Lord. This is our gospel service, our evangelistic service, and so these particular words here in verse 7 are tailor-made for a service like ours this morning because there are here very clear instructions as to how to know the Lord and they are of course the words of the lord himself of god himself the second person of the trinity the lord jesus christ so all i'm going to do very simply this morning and it will be a simple message this morning is i'm just going to look at these words in a very straightforward fashion in some ways you don't even need me to to go through these words with you. They are so simple and straightforward, but God willing, I will attempt, endeavor to give you a fuller idea, to elaborate somewhat on what these words actually convey to us. Glorious, simple words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. And just to say from the outset that when I gave the title, Three Steps to Salvation, well, it is important in a sense to realize that these are steps, these are steps of progression. It's like you're going up some steps, you're going upstairs or something. You go on the first step, that is ask, And then you go on the next step, which is seek. And then you go on to the third step, which is knock. So there is some progression here. Each step is adding to the other step. So this is levels of progress. They're not all on the same level. ask seek knock they're not all on the same level there is a level of progress being made here so that's helpful for us to understand as we look into these words ask seek and knock well let us start with the asking ask and it shall be given you that's the first exhortation it's for us to ask now the first thing i would say is that asking implies a sense of need. A sense of need. If you don't need something, well, you won't ask for it. You wouldn't ask for money, for example, if you didn't need money. If you didn't need money, you wouldn't ask for it. You wouldn't ask for a cup of water, let's say, if you didn't need water, if you weren't thirsty. You ask for something because you need something. So that is the first implication. When we ask for something, it's because we have a need. And so this is very simply, this is how we start in our Christian life. This is how we begin to draw near to the Lord. We begin to sense our need, our need of God. Now it is true, and I say this very often, we only really sense our need of God when something bad happens to us. or when there is a great difficulty in our lives, or if there is some kind of a crisis, something unexpected, something that nobody else can help you with, and you can't help yourself, that is normally the time when you sense your need of God. That is normally the way it is. That's very common. When a Christian gives his testimony, how they came to faith, you will almost always hear this. that they were in a terrible state, they were in a terrible condition, and then they called upon the Lord. That's how the Lord works. You know, the Lord allows us to fall into a bad situation because the Lord wants us to see our need of Him. Why has the Lord done this? He wants you to see your need of Him. He wants you to call upon Him because He wants to rescue you. That's why. Why has the Lord done this? He wants you to see your need. That is how the Lord so often works. But of course, there are some people, and we have to mention this, who will not call upon God even when things go bad. Even when things fall apart, they refuse to call upon the Lord. There are people like that. Many people, I dare say. Why is that? Well, because there is something else required in the act of asking. There's something else required. Something we must be when we ask. And it is namely this. We must be humble. We must be humble. You know, to ask somebody for something, It is an act of humility because you have to humble yourself, you have to acknowledge that there is something you are lacking, something you do not have, so therefore you have to ask somebody for something you don't have. It is, in a sense, a humble act. You are lacking in some way. You are not sufficient in some way. So therefore, you have to ask for help. You have to accept you need help. And you need to humble yourself. Somebody who asks, well, he has to humble himself in that way. But of course, as I've already said, so many people refuse to humble themselves, particularly not before God. They will not call upon God no matter how bad things get. They will never turn to the Lord. And we see this even now in our society. Things are getting so bad, so terribly bad. Is anybody calling upon the Lord? Well, perhaps maybe one or two, but generally speaking, what do you meet? Who do you meet on the street when you go out and try to speak about the Lord? I'm not calling upon God. I'm not going to do such a thing. I'm not going to humble myself. Why should I? I'm not going to call upon the Lord. All the problems that we see around us, we can solve them ourselves. Our governments can solve them. People can solve them. Just educate people a little bit. We're not going to turn to the Lord. We're not gonna ask Him anything. That is the attitude of people in this society. Because you see, people are so proud. It's the opposite of humility. We don't need God. We can sort everything out ourselves. That's pride. But when we ask, we have to humble ourselves. Ask the Lord, humble yourself. To ask is an act of humility. Dear friends, this is what this means. Ask and it shall be given you. And how specifically do we ask the Lord anything? Let us just move on in our thinking. Well, you will all know this. How do we ask God anything? Well, we pray. We pray. Prayer is so important. In fact, many commentators so that all three of these things, this whole verse, is actually about prayer, asking, seeking, knocking, You could, if you wanted to, apply this whole verse just to prayer, but I'm not going to do that. But I'm going to say simply, prayer is so important. The Lord Jesus Christ himself was a great example of prayer, a great man of prayer. All the great men in the Bible were men of prayer. All the great women in the Bible were women of prayer. Of course, there were so many great Christians down throughout history, they prayed. Do you pray? I have to ask this in the middle of this gospel service for believers and non-believers. Do you pray? Prayer is the greatest thing a Christian can do. You could say it's the easiest thing a Christian can do. No matter where you are, no matter what situation you are in, it's so easy to pray. You don't have to go anywhere in particular. You don't have to go to a church to pray. You can pray anywhere. You don't have to pay anything to pray. It's free. You just lift your thoughts and your heart to the Lord. It's the easiest thing to do to pray. But may I add this? It is perhaps the most neglected thing that Christians neglect. How much we neglect prayer. Are we guilty of this? Do we sometimes wake up in the morning and say, well, I don't really need God today. I can cope with everything that the world has to throw at me this day. I don't need the Lord's help. I'm not gonna ask him for anything. Is that us? Dear friends, that is so foolish. How much we ought to pray. The Lord will not do anything in your life if you don't pray. The Lord will not save you if you don't pray. Are you a seeker here? and you're wanting the Lord to save you. Nobody has been saved without praying first. You have to pray. Of course, dear friends, you have to ask. Ask and it shall be given you. Dear friends, I just mentioned this because prayer is so important. But let me just add this. There is a way in which we ask. We have to be careful. how we ask the Lord. We have to examine our motivations. You know, there is a verse later on in the New Testament, in the letter of James, that gives us further instructions on how we are to ask. In James chapter four, verse two, you don't have to turn to it, but he says this, ye have not because ye ask not. Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. So he says, you have not because you ask not. So we have to ask before we receive anything. But then he says, you ask and receive not because ye ask amiss, because you ask in the wrong way. And what this means is this. So many people are not successful in prayer. Their prayers are not answered because they ask God for the wrong things. They ask God for the wrong things, for selfish things, perhaps. Perhaps some people will say to the Lord, Lord, give me money. Lord, give me a comfortable lifestyle. Lord, give me a big house and a nice car so that all my neighbors will be very impressed. My status will go up. Maybe there are some people like this. There are people who are like this. Make my life better, Lord. So you're just praying just for selfish things. No, dear friends, you have to ask for the right things. You have to pray with the right motivations, with the right reasons, for spiritual reasons, dear friends. Christianity is spiritual. Pray for faith. Pray for the Lord to change you, to make you holy. Pray for the Lord to forgive you all your sins. Pray, Lord, I want to know you. I want to have that relationship with you. I want you to be in my life. I want to know your love in my heart. I want to love you. You see, this is where seekers stumble. They ask in the wrong way. They pray to God, but it's really selfish prayers. Just give me a good life. Lord, make me a Christian so that I can have an easy life. You ask amiss. You're asking in the wrong way. Dear friends, you have to ask in the right way. Ask to know the Lord. Ask for faith in Him and obedience to Him. To live for Him, not about yourself. Pray to the Lord for the right things and he will answer you. Dear friends, maybe there are some people here, you're asking the Lord, you're not asking in the right way. You have to ask with those right motives and right motivations. But ask and it shall be given you. I have to move on to the second part. Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and ye shall find. Now this is the next step up the staircase. Seeking. This is more than asking. This is more than asking now. Seeking is asking plus acting. Asking plus acting. That's how we can define seeking. So you've asked for something from the Lord, but then you also have to be active in obtaining that thing that you have prayed for, that you have asked for. For example, you pray to the Lord to save you, to save your soul. You must begin seeking salvation for your soul. You have to seek it. You don't just pray and do nothing. You must seek the Lord. You know, I was speaking to somebody on the street the other day, and he asked me, what is it to seek the Lord? Or what did I do to seek the Lord? And one thing I said to him, and I say this very often, really what you're doing is you're seeking truth. You're seeking truth about the world, about life, about man, about God. That's how I started. I wasn't seeking religion. I wasn't seeking to go to a church. Nothing like that. I was seeking the truth. What is the truth about this world? So many opinions, so many ideas, so many theories. What is the truth? When you seek truth, you're seeking the Lord. Dear friends, that's my first word of advice to anybody seeking. Seek the truth, it will lead you to the Lord. And while we seek the truth in many ways, We seek the truth, we come to a place such as this. You speak to believers, you ask them about what has happened to them. Has there really been a true change in you? Yes, there has. You're seeking the truth. This is what it is to seek the Lord. You start reading the word of God. So many seekers, I want God to save me. They never read the word of God, never read the Bible. This is how you seek. You seek the Lord through the word of God. You learn about him. You learn what he is like, his character, his attributes. You learn about the way of salvation. So it's not just asking, you are seeking the Lord. You're seeking him. We don't just pray and do nothing. We seek after there's an active role we have to play. But again, I have to point this out because Right at the end of chapter 6, again, the Lord explains to us how we are to seek. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Seek ye first. In other words, seek the Lord ahead of anything else. This is the most important thing in your life. You know, at the end of chapter six, I won't go into it, but the Lord is speaking about people who are worried about so many things, about what they will eat, about what they will drink, about how they will be clothed. It's the same nowadays. That's what we... all worry about. There's nothing new under the sun, what we will eat, bills to pay, and so on. But the Lord said, seek first the kingdom of God. In other words, this is what you need to seek above anything else. This is how we seek the Lord. You don't put him second on your list, or third, or fourth, or when I get time I'll seek the Lord. But there's so many other things that are so much more important. That's not how you seek the Lord. Seek him first. This is the most important thing in my life above all. Nothing else even comes close. I must put this first on my priority. more than my career, more than my education, more than my hobbies, more than my riches. You know, I seek the Lord, I need the Lord above all of those things. Seek Him first, then you will find Him When you truly put Him first, you will surely find Him, dear Lord, dear friends. This is the promise that is given to you. Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and ye shall find. This is the wonderful thing about these words. This is not a fruitless search. Without God, you are not, you are always, without God, you are always searching for something you could never have. Without God, people in this world, they're searching for true satisfaction, true contentment, true joy, true happiness, true love. They're searching for these things, but it's a fruitless search without God. You'll never find it. Only with the Lord will you find it. Seek and you will find. That's the promise of God. In the world, seek, you'll never find it. No satisfaction, no contentment, whatever you're looking for, whatever the world promises, it doesn't give it to you. But the Lord, seek and you will find all these things. This is the promise. God always keeps his promise. So dear friends, how is it with you? Are you fruitlessly searching for things in this world? Searching and never finding? Come to the Lord. He says, seek and you will find. Dear friends, I have to come to the gospel application. Where do you find the Lord? Where do you find the Lord? Well, this is where the Lord Jesus Christ comes in, Christ and the cross. If you want to seek the Lord, you must know the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where you find God in Christ, the incarnate God, God in the flesh. Remember what he said to his disciple? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. You want to seek God, you have to find the Lord Jesus Christ. He said elsewhere, I and the Father are one. They are one. You want to draw near to the Lord? You cannot have God the Father without God the Son. You must have the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how you seek God. I want to know God. You must know Christ, but you must also know the cross. In order to be right with God, you must meet him at the cross. It's like, if I can just give this illustration, if somebody arranges to meet up with you, and they say to you, I will meet you somewhere, I'll meet you by the bank or I'll meet you by the clock tower or by the library. I will meet you there. I'll see you there. Well, what is the Lord arranged? Where does the Lord meet us? Where is he reconciled to us? It's at the cross, the cross of Calvary. That's where we meet, truly meet, where we are truly reconciled with God. Nowhere else. It's at the cross of Calvary. God says to us in the gospel, I will meet you at the cross. Dear friends, have you sought to understand the cross of Calvary? Why Christ died, you must. Again, I repeat myself, don't just seek religion. Don't just seek to do religious things, church going and so on. You have to seek the Lord himself and he meets you at the cross. What happened at the cross? Christ made atonement for our sins. This is the truth about us. You want the truth? The Bible teaches us the truth. Man is sinful. The human race is fallen. We have all lied. We've all stolen. We have all coveted. We are all rebels by nature against God. That is the truth. And God is holy. That's the truth about God. God is a holy God. He's a just God. He must punish sin. That's the truth. That is how the Bible presents God. God is holy and just and righteous. He must punish sin. But the truth also is that He sent His Son. He sent the Lord Jesus Christ to take upon Himself the punishment for us. His only begotten Son. You go, you save a people for yourself. All those who believe in you, they will be forgiven because you have taken the punishment for their sin. This is the message. We are sinners. But Christ has taken the punishment. If we believe in him, there is no condemnation for us. Christ has been condemned in our place. He loved us. He went to the cross out of love to save us. And he has saved us indeed to the uttermost. It's at the cross, that's where we meet with the Lord. That's where we have peace with God. Dear friends, seek that. Seek to understand that above all things before anything else. Seek what Christ has done on Calvary. That's where your salvation is. That's where the love of God is known. Christ loved us and he gave himself for us. So dear friends, asking and seeking And finally, we come to the third part, knocking. Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. So what is this about? There's been asking, there's been acting. Now we come to persevering. Knocking is about persevering. Now I've said just a few minutes ago, that if you seek the Lord, you will surely find the Lord. And that is, of course, true. But the Lord doesn't say when. He doesn't say when you will find the Lord. He doesn't give a time scale. He doesn't say if you do this, well, within about a week or two, then you will find the Lord. He doesn't say that. He doesn't give a time scale. That's not how it works. When it comes to our salvation, we have to persevere. It can take time. You have to knock and keep on knocking, like somebody at a door. The illustration is very apt. You come to a door, you knock on it, there's no answer. If you're persevering, you will knock again and again and again. That is how you must be with the Lord. The Lord hasn't saved you. Don't just give up. You see, this is the mistake that seekers make. They knock for a while, maybe for a week, maybe for a month, and then they say, oh, God doesn't want anything to do with me. They give up. That's not the attitude. The door is never gonna open if you have that attitude. This is how your attitude ought to be. I'm going to keep knocking, even if it takes me 10 years. 10 years for the Lord to open up, even if it takes me 30 years for the Lord to open up, I am going to keep knocking. And it is that attitude that the Lord will bless. Maybe the Lord is waiting for you to have that attitude. I'm going to knock and I'm not going to stop seeking the Lord until I find Him. Because you know how much you need Him. You know that you will come to the end of your life. You don't even know when. It may be very soon. It may be in the coming days of this week. I have to keep knocking. I don't have any choice. There's nobody else who can save me. There's nobody else who can save me from death, from hell. I have to leave this life, this world and go into eternity. What will it be like for my soul? I need Christ. I have to keep knocking. I have to persevere. So this is the third step, perseverance, never giving up. I need Christ. I need new life. I need forgiveness for my sins. I need peace with God. This is the way of salvation. These are the three steps. Whatever you do, dear friends, if you are not saved, don't stop. and the door will be opened to you. These words are so wonderful. Let me just look at these final verses just after verses eight and nine. For everyone that asketh receiveth, this is the assurance, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you whom, if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye, then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him? Let me just close just very simply trying to explain those words. When a parent is asked of a child, of a gift. Father, give me, give me something that I desire. Give me bread, is the example given here. A parent will give him bread. The parent will not give him something different, give him a stone. And similarly, if he asks a fish, the parent will give the child a fish. He will not give a serpent. He will not deceive the child. He will not mislead the child. making him think that he will get bread, but actually he's getting something else. He will not mislead or deceive his child. It's the same with God. God has promised true joy to all those who trust in him. If you give your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, he's not going to deceive you. He's promised you true joy. He's not going to give you sorrow and grief and heartache. He's going to give you true joy. He's promised true peace. And if He's promised true peace, He's gonna give you true peace. He's not gonna give you despair and distress. He's gonna give you what He has promised to you. Why will you not come? What are you afraid of? If even earthly fathers, earthly parents can do this, how much more will God bless you? How much more will God give you? God has promised you heaven, everlasting life. So dear friends, even on our deathbed, you don't have to worry, what's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to me? I tried to follow God. What is he going to give me at the end of my life? Am I going to end up in hell? No, dear friends. He has promised you heaven. He is going to give you heaven and everlasting life. That's what those words mean. You can trust the Lord. So this is my final exaltation. Why would you not come? So simple, asking, seeking, knocking. These things are not hard. And everything that he has promised, he will give you. There is no greater message in this world, dear friends. Search the other philosophies, search the other religions. There is nothing more wonderful than this, what God gives us. So dear friends, I urge you to seek and find the Lord. He does not lie to us. He will not leave you disappointed. There are no regrets. Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and ye shall find, not persevere. Don't give up and it shall be opened unto you. May the Lord bless each and every one of us.